Russia to continue strong start in Euro 2020 qualifying
2819
Russia thrashed San Marino in Euro 2020 qualifying over the weekend, 9-0. Now the Russians welcome Cyprus to the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium with the aim of pulling closer to Group I leaders Belgium.
Cyprus may not be the strongest side in Group I, but the team has played well in qualifying so far. Cyprus gained a 5-0 victory over San Marino before losing 2-0 to Belgium.
Manager Ran Ben Shimon’s team was unlucky not to get a result against Scotland at the weekend after scoring an equaliser in the 87th minute. The Scottish team scored a late goal to claim victory.
Russia will pose a much more difficult threat than did the Scottish. The Russians are +11 in goal difference having scored 14 times and conceded just three goals.
Manager Stanislav Cherchesov has led his team to impressive victories, but those wins did come against two of the group’s poorer sides. Wins over Kazakhstan and San Marino should be taken with a grain of salt.
Russia were well beaten by Belgium despite playing much of the first half level. Cyprus are a stronger team than San Marino although they are far from the group’s best.
Striker Artyom Dzyuba heads into Tuesday night’s fixture full of confidence. Dzyuba scored four goals against San Marino. The striker leads Group I with five goals after three matches.
Cyrpus’ Ioannis Kousoulos and Pieros Sotiriou have two goals apiece and Russia will be wary of the duo’s ability to find the back of the net. Kousoulos scored against Scotland at the weekend.
Russia are undefeated in their last two matches against Cyprus dating back to 1997. The two nations have not played since 2003, however.
The Russians scored a 1-0 victory over Cyprus in a friendly. Six years prior, the two nations played in World Cup qualifying with the game ending 1-1.
Cyprus have never qualified for a major football tournament and that drought looks set to continue. The Cypriot team, although containing some good players, do not have the all-around quality of Russia.
Dzyuba should lead his Russian team to victory on home soil in Tuesday night’s clash with Cyprus. The striker is good value to get another goal. One leading sportsbook has Dzyuba at 4/5 to score anytime while he is 3/1 to get the first goal of the game.
Russia should handle Cyprus with little difficulty. Expect Russia’s goalscoring exploits to continue with over 2.5 goals going into the nets in Nizhny Novgorod.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
EuQ
721811
1
3 - 1
3.20
18°
1.21
1.21
6.80
17.00
1
-1
-1
1 - 0(1 - 0)
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